


Hunting Foxes

by LadyBee



Category: Dark (TV 2017)
Genre: F/M, Friends to Lovers, Post-Apocalypse, teenage Elisabeth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:28:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,481
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25041664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyBee/pseuds/LadyBee
Summary: Elisabeth noticed a change in his eyes too. They no longer looked at her with kindness. He was a hunter looking at her as if she was a fox waiting to be taken down.
Relationships: Elisabeth Doppler/Noah | Hanno Tauber
Comments: 30
Kudos: 211





	1. Chapter 1

It was dark inside the bunker until it wasn’t.  The door opened while the world outside turned to ashes. She was afraid of what was going on. She was just a child, but the density of danger was too much even for her. She wanted to know where her mother and Franziska were and if they would make it to the bunker in time, until the  door distracted her for a brief and mesmerizing second.

Elisabeth thought he was an angel at first. One of those who can perform miracles and save people. His eyes were not those of an angel though. They were too fierce, driven and even insane to belong to something divine. Maybe he was of a different kind; an angel of death.

He was looking for something when he arrived. It felt like he was hunting something until his eyes reached hers. Elisabeth felt cold all of a sudden. Something like fear and wonderment. His eyes softened a bit as if he didn’t want to scare her. She relaxed and her mind quietened as her eyes were fixed at his face.

The world ended that day and started at the same time. She didn’t understand what was going on or what happened to the city. Her father told her it had to do with the nuclear station, with travels and time. Her mother and sister were waiting for them somewhere and they should look for them in the military tents.

Food was scarce and never tasted good, but it was all what was left. They roamed the city looking for something to eat and also for scraps of the life they had. Everything was dead and gray. The rain seemed to be endless and as the days passed Elisabeth started to accept that her mother and sister were gone too. She was constantly angry at her father for living in denial when it was all so obvious. She also felt so lonely and scared that she just wanted to close her eyes and sleep forever too.

They went to the Kahnwald’s house, or what was left of it. Her father asked her to stay at kitchen while he went upstairs to check if her mother and sister were there. Elisabeth felt exhausted, broken and utterly lonely. She found a family photo on the floor. It was the only evidence left of them.

Elisabeth felt the air change around her. That weird sensation of feeling someone spying on you. She turned around just to make sure it was nothing, but there he was.

He removed the hood from his head and she could see his piercing blue eyes. Eyes of a hunter. Eyes of an angel. Eyes of death...They looked at her with unusual gentleness. Once more he didn’t want her to feel scared. His hands were fast in telling her that he was looking for food and ask her what she was looking for.

Elisabeth picked the little sketch book from her pocket and wrote down the answer. She shown it to the boy before asking him where he was sleeping. For some reason she thought he might feel as lonely as she was and in need of a friend too. He wrote down his own answer.

_ The caves… _

Before she could ask anything else her father came back. He shouted and waved his hands furiously, probably telling the angel to go away. To leave her alone. The last thing she wanted was to be alone. She just wanted a friend like Yasin. A hug that made her feel safe, like her mother’s.

The boy replied something to her father before looking back at Elisabeth with reluctant eyes. He turned his back and walked away, leaving her even more angry and lonely than before.

∞∞∞∞∞∞

She looked at her hands in shock. Her conscience had been turned off for a second, in some sort of furious trance, only returning when that man no longer moved. She had...She had killed him.

Elisabeth walked away from the body and went to the trailer’s bathroom just to find her father with a knife stuck in his neck. He wasn’t moving nor breathing. He was gone too and now she was truly alone and terrified.

She ignored the rain and every potential danger. In fact, Elisabeth had no idea of what was going on around her nor where she was going to. Her feet had their own will as her tears and the raindrops washed down her face.

Elisabeth couldn’t tell for how long she walked nor where she was until she saw him again. She was at the caves, all dirty and cold. He sat in front of her after giving her something to eat. She was right. He was an angel.

When she recovered a bit of her senses her trembling hands asked for a name. He took her hand carefully and turned her palm up. The tip of his finger brushed against her skin like a pen over paper. He drew his invisible letters to tell her what felt like a secret.

_ Hanno… _

They both sat by the fire for a while, without making gestures or writing answers. Her hands were busy playing with the watch that odd priest had given her. Elisabeth thought it to  b e a curious coincidence that the watch had her mother’s name on it. That was the only thing left of her family.

Her mother, father and sister where probably in heaven, in a true paradise. Would she ever be allowed to see them again? If the paradise existed, wasn’t it meant only for good people? She had killed a man. Didn’t it make her a bad person? She felt wicked and devious after that. Surely God would punish her for that crime by never allowing her to see her family again.

Elisabeth looked up searching for Hanno’s eyes. He was an angel...Maybe he could tell her things about paradise. Maybe he could take her there one day and talk to God and convince Him to let her stay and meet her family again.

“Tell me about paradise.” Her shaky hands asked unsure if that was a good idea. His blue eyes shone in the darkness while looking at her with warmth. 

Hanno moved his hands slowly, unsure of the movements, as his voice followed the gestures to form an answer. She could understand his answer in gestures and read his lips that moved so softly.

“ Paradise is free of pain and suffering.” He told her. “Everything we’ve ever done is forgotten there. Any pain we’ve ever felt is erased. All the dead live. Adam will keep his promise and the passage will open.” Elisabeth didn’t know who was Adam or even if what Hanno was telling her was true, but at that moment she wanted and needed to believe in every word.

“Will they be there?” Elisabeth asked after a while. Hanno nod positively in answer. “Can I go there?”

He didn’t answer her this time. He rose from his spot and sat closer to her so he could put his arm around her shoulders awkwardly. With his free hand he pointed at her and then at himself.

_ You and Me. I promise. _

With that promise she fell asleep by his side. Locked in hell, but surrounded by the warmth of his arms gently holding her; protecting her like walls and blankets. For the first time in months she didn’t feel alone.

∞∞∞∞∞∞

Hanno explained her that they needed to dig and remove the rocks blocking the tunnels. That was an important step for them to open the portal to paradise. That was Adam’s plans and Elisabeth soon figured that Adam’s plans should not and could not be questioned.

Whenever they were working on the tunnels Elisabeth could see the fierce and cold determination taking back Hanno’s eyes. He was suddenly different and distant from the idea of a guardian angel. He was somewhere between human and devil. His eyes gave her the same chills she felt when she met that priest. The one her mother said had taken Yasin. She tried to remember his name several times, but she was always so exhausted that this became something secondary.

Elisabeth worked until her hands were rough and her body all sore. After a long day at the tunnels, Hanno would find them something to eat and then Elisabeth helped him to learn her language. It was like teaching someone to read and write. Hanno learned fast but she couldn’t tell if he had some previous knowledge or if it was pure instinct.

As he learned her signs, Elisabeth learned things about him. Hanno had a sister and she was far away. He was a devotee and often prayed alone in the dark corners of the cave. Hanno explained her things about heaven and God’s plans for them. He spoke of creating a new world.  _ Sic mundus creatus est _ .

At night, when both of them were exhausted and in need of sleep, Elisabeth would lay by his side and cuddle like she used to do with Franziska whenever she had a bad dream. Hanno kept the cold and the nightmares away. He played with a lock of her hair or petted her back gently until she was sound asleep.

In the dark and gray days, Hanno was the only source of light to keep her in her path. Her friend, her guardian, her family...His handsome face was never angry at her and she never felt unwanted. Elisabeth eventually learned that he knew how to smile and laugh whenever she told him something funny.

It was useless to count months and years. They all looked somewhat the same. She kept track of time by the length of her hair whenever Hanno had it cut. It wasn’t something he liked to do, but he agreed to help her whenever it got way too long or tangled. She did the same for him once she learned how to do it without making him look like a crazy man. Elisabeth used to love watching him shave his beard away. It was somewhat hypnotic.

Elisabeth liked to think of Hanno as her boyfriend, like Yasin had been. Maybe one day, when she was older, she would marry him. They would leave the cave and build a house in the woods, like the cabin her father had. That was the greatest ambition in her life and it was probably the limit that new world would allow her to reach. Hanno never spoke of what he wanted. His life was a quest, a mission. He needed to follow Adam’s orders although she didn’t understand why they were so important.

∞∞∞∞∞

Hanno had the eyes of a hunter, but that cold determination was never aimed at her. As the time passed, and they grew older, that too changed.

At first he cautiously imposed a safe distance between them. She started to sleep on her own mat tress on the other side of the cave. He avoided hugs and no longer played with her hair. Elisabeth wondered if that had anything to do with the blood that kept coming out of her  every moon cycle.

He was probably disgusted at her because of that, but was too determinate to ever leave her alone. Hanno had given her his word that he would keep her safe. Affection wasn’t a part of that deal. His distance was painful though. She missed the small gestures of tenderness that made her feel loved and wanted. Hanno was the closest thing to a family that she had and now Elisabeth felt rejected by him.

Elisabeth noticed a change in his eyes too. They no longer looked at her with kindness. He was a hunter looking at her as if she was a fox waiting to be taken down. The way Hanno looked at her made her feel uneasy and warm all of a sudden as if she was feverish. The way he moved around her was meticulous, like a cat surrounding a prey. It felt like some sort of game, but Elisabeth didn’t know how to play it.

“Why are you avoiding me?” She asked him one night. Her hands moving furiously and her eyes piercing him with sheer outrage. Hanno looked at her with evident confusion before coming up with an answer.

“I’m not.” His gestures were slow and insecure. “Why do you think this?”

“You don’t stay with me. If I’m in the cave you find something to do outside.” Her gestures became even more energetic and fast. “You don’t...You don’t hug me. You don’t let me seat near you. You don’t sleep with me anymore.” Tears of anger ran down her face as her signs became so fast that Hanno had to ask her to slow down so he could understand what she was saying. “You don’t want me here anymore.”

Hanno shook his head slightly. He gave one step forward and held her hands for a second. His eyes were warm and gentle once more.

“I want you.” He finally said while looking into her eyes. “I’m just trying to protect you. To give you space.”

“I don’t want it!” Her answer still came out angrily. Her gestures were harsh and abrupt. “I want us like it was before.”

“You are growing.” Hanno finally said. His gestures and the way his mouth moved where tense and unsure. “Things change. It doesn’t mean that I don’t want you here.”

A stubborn tear crossed her face and Elisabeth wiped it away angrily. She wasn’t convinced yet and Hanno didn’t seem to know how to give her answers.

“I’ll go away.” Elisabeth finally said and that Hanno’s face got suddenly pale.

“You can’t!” Hanno answered with erratic gestures and was clearly screaming at her. “You will die out there!”

“I can take care of myself.” She replied with indifference and even a bit of disdain for his obsession in protecting her. “I don’t need you.” Those words were meant to hurt both of them, but Hanno was devastated.

“I need you.” He answered slowly.

“Why?” She questioned with anger still boiling inside her veins.

“There’s no paradise without you.” He finally said. For a moment Elisabeth didn’t know how to understand those words. Was she needed for him to conclude Adam’s plan? That was it? Or he needed her because his paradise wouldn’t be complete without her? Elisabeth doubted the second. It was more likely that Adam’s plan was the real reason.

Elisabeth noticed that he was crying. That was something she had never seen before. Hanno was always so calm, pragmatic and focused. Sometimes it was hard to tell if he had feelings at all for anything that wasn’t her. Elisabeth knew how to make him smile, laugh and at times even make a joke. Those were things no one else had ever witnessed.

She had seen him sad before, or at least she assumed he was sad, but crying was something new. Elisabeth regretted her words almost immediately. Yes, she wanted to hurt him a bit, but that clearly got out of control. Hanno had been at the edge of an abyss, bordering his breaking point. It was only natural that she would be the one to push him down.

“I’m sorry.” Her hands moved shyly and Elisabeth doubted Hanno had seen her trying to communicate. His hands were shaking and he seemed to be completely at lost. All that time living together had given him a pretty good idea of her mood swings and how to navigate through them. She must have hit a sore spot. He hardly spoke of his family, so Elisabeth presumed them to be dead like her own. Threaten the leave him probably reminded him of that pain.

Hanno was still crying when he walked away. That threw her out of balance as she observed him walking to the other side of the cave to seat in his mattress. In a place without wall, that was the equivalent of locking himself inside his bedroom. He didn’t know how to answer her demands. He didn’t know how to deal with that level of rejection.

Well...Even if there was a wall between them, Elisabeth wouldn’t mind putting it down to reach him. She hurt him and she had to fix Hanno. She walked towards him and sat by his side carefully. Elisabeth tapped his shoulder lightly just to call for his attention. Hanno looked at her like a wounded animal, but didn’t tell her to leave.

“I’m sorry.” She said it again, hoping this time he would accept her apologies. “I didn’t mean that. I don’t want to go away.”

Elisabeth hugged him awkwardly. She felt his right hand holding her wrist as if he was afraid of losing her. The feeling of rejection that had been bothering her so much were gone, at least for a while.

Hanno let go of her wrist. He moved his body so he could look directly at her. There was a moment of hesitation before he lowered his head and pressed his lips against hers in a shy kiss.

It was fast and felt like the time she had kissed Yasin’s cheek during lunch. It felt magical and thrilling. This time it wasn’t Yasin’s cheek. It was Hannos mouth kissing hers and that was something completely different. Hanno made her crave for more, although she wasn’t sure of what she wanted.

He parted the kiss and pressed his forehead against hers for a long while. Elisabeth could feel his heavy breath against her skin and how much it costed him to not move.

“That’s why things can’t be as they were before.” His shaky hands moved slowly as Elisabeth observed his lips moving. “I know what I want, but the time isn’t right.” 


	2. Chapter 2

All those years he had believed both in Adam and his older self. Hanno had followed the plan blindly and without even questioning the path he would have to walk in order to reach Paradise. Sometimes he wondered if that had been a good idea or if he should have followed his religious inclination and become a priest.

“You need to live the things I lived in order to become what I am now.” His older self often said things like that whenever Hanno’s commitment to the cause flickered. The promises were endless, but it was the idea of Paradise what truly fascinated him.

Hanno could hardly imagine something more valuable than that. He had this wonderful idea of a place without pain, where his mother was alive and there was no pain. A place where his more questionable actions were erased. That was good enough for him, but Noah kept telling him that there would come a time in which his ambitions would change and his quest for Paradise would have a different motivation.

The name Elisabeth was spoken by his older self with reverence, longing and tenderness. Whoever that woman was, Noah promised he would love her more than life itself; more than Adam, the plan and paradise. That sounded like an exaggeration, but Hanno didn’t question it. Noah probably already knew his feelings about it.

Elisabeth was inevitable. No matter the world, no matter the time, she would always be his compass and his goal. Her age was something odd for him to digest. How could he fall in love with a girl that was probably as old as Agnes? That was simply sick and depraved.

Elisabeth was inevitable though. He only understood the intensity of it at the moment he saw her for the first time in the bunker. She was just a child and yet there was such a strength and boldness in her eyes that Hanno couldn’t help being impressed. Her eyes were clever and her disability seemed to force her to develop a dangerous level of observation.

Fox eyes in a face that was way too young to be of any interest to a man. Yet, that girl made him feel naked and helpless. The need to protect and care for her was as natural as breathing.

When she moved to the cave, after her father was murdered, Hanno accepted the responsibility and tried to care for her as he would care for Agnes when they were younger. No...He was actually way more caring with Elisabeth for reasons he couldn’t really explain.

“You’ll find someone. A woman you’ll love more than anything.” Noah had said once and Hanno listened with skepticism. “Elisabeth is...She is the light of the sun. You will understand it when you meet her. From the very first moment and until the end of the world, every thing you will ever do, will be for her.”

“It is sickening to think that she will be just a child when we meet.” Hanno said with a hint of disgust in his voice. Noah answered him with a sharp and cold gaze that Hanno was very familiar with. He recognized the outrage and anger in the shades of blue.

“You will be whatever she needs you to be.” Noah said through clenched teeth. “A guardian, a tutor, a father, a brother, a friend...At times even an enemy. She will hurt you and despair you. Most of the time you won’t understand her, until you do. You won’t know her as woman until she is of age. Waiting for her will test your faith and your convictions, but as I said...You will be whatever she needs you to be. No more and no less.”

That much was true. Hanno became all of those things whenever Elisabeth needed him to be them. At first it was easy. He cared for her and being a friend, a brother or even a father sometimes wasn’t that difficult. There were days in the chaos of the post-apocalypse world that Hanno wondered if that warmth inside his heart he felt whenever Elisabeth smiled was the love Noah had promised him.

Time was a tricky thing though and when combined with all the mystery of a girl walking into womanhood it was even more complicated.

Hanno watched the changes in her closely and figured that every day he was getting closer and closer to discover the sort of woman he would fall in love with. The baby fat vanished from her face, making her face delicate and slightly wolfish. Her body was slowly developing curves. The chest was no longer flat. Only the eyes remained the same. Fox eyes, wild and clever, watching every step he gave and making Hanno feel completely naked. At times he was certain that Elisabeth could read his mind and how his thoughts were no longer so pure.

To impose a certain distance between them was inevitable. It was only proper. Elisabeth was no longer a child and she deserved some space and privacy from time to time. Henno considered it an adequate move although the awkwardness in the air was killing him.

That wouldn’t last forever. That was the only consolation he had and that was good enough for him. Of course he never thought Elisabeth would react like that. He certainly never expected for her to threaten him with the only thing Hanno couldn’t tolerate.

“I’ll go away...I can take care of myself...I don’t need you...” All those words could be true and Elisabeth was independent and clever enough to survive on her own at that point. She could finde herself a new place, new friends and allies to give her protection if needed. That was the bitter truth of it. Hanno needed her more than she needed him.

Just thinking of her leaving him was overwhelming. Hanno felt dizzy and for the first time in years he cried out of fear. He wished he had the slightest idea of how to handle that surreal situation of feeling so helpless because of a girl.

A childish impulse took him all of a sudden. He went to his mattress and sat there with his back against the cave’s wall. He was all curled up, like an instinctive reaction to prevent himself of breaking and falling apart.

Elisabeth came back to him, although Hanno didn’t know why she would ever bother to. He needed a moment to recompose himself and to think his life through. Just a couple of hours to figure out how to handle the impossible situation he had been put through. Obviously Hanno didn’t want her to feel unwanted or unloved, but he couldn’t afford letting Elisabeth being so close to him.

It wasn’t right. It wasn’t safe. It was his responsibility and his fault if got hurt. Nothing of that mattered though. Elisabeth wanted what she wanted and she was never afraid of reaching for it. She sat by his side and called for his attention.

“I’m sorry.” She moved her hands slowly so he could understand her. “I didn’t mean that. I don’t want to go away.”

Elisabeth put her arms around his shoulders awkwardly. For a brief second her felt a wave of relief washing away his most immediate fears. His right hand held her left wrist for what felt like an eternity. Hanno just wanted to make sure she was really there and that she wouldn’t leave.

He avoided looking at her for a while. He was afraid of losing control for good and ruining everything. He was afraid Elisabeth would change her mind. He was afraid of hurting her. Noah said he would have to be strong and that waiting for her would test his faith. Maybe Hanno wasn’t a man of faith after all, nor as strong as he needed to be.

Hanno looked at her for a moment. Elisabeth’s fox eyes gazing at him in a silent plea for forgiveness. As if she any kind of blame in his lack of ability to deal with that mission. It was his fault all along. His weakness poorly excused by the honest wish of protecting her and a love that had already taken root within his heart.

If only he could control time like Adam...If only he already knew how to go forward in that time line just to meet Elisabeth when it was right for them to be together. That would ruin the whole plan, but at least he could simply have a moment of happiness just for himself.

Hanno lowered his head a bit. He could feel Elisabeth holding her breath in anticipation. His lips brushed against hers.

He always knew Elisabeth to be inevitable, but in that brief interlude the whole plan seemed to make sense. There was no other possible destine. Elisabeth was the beginning and the end. A fate that he had tried to avoid and failed completely.

“That’s why things can’t be as they were before.” His shaky hands moved slowly once he parted the kiss. Elisabeth observed him in utter shock. “I know what I want, but the time isn’t right.”

∞∞∞∞∞

Hanno’s reasons were completely incoherent to her. If he wanted her distant, than why would he kiss her? Why would he break down in tears at her silly threat? In her mind it was all very confusing and contradicting like everything about him.

The time wasn’t right, according to his words, but it was! It was rather stupid for him to pretend otherwise! Elisabeth loved him, she had known that for quite a while at that point. Why was it so difficult for him to accept that he felt the same about her? She was not a child anymore! She had worked by his side, cared for him and even killed. She was far from being the kid he found in the bunker and Hanno was already the only family she had left.

His awkward rejection just made her even more frustrated. Hanno went to the woods shortly after that. He said he would be back latter and for a while Elisabeth wondered if he was telling her the truth.

She believed him though. Elisabeth stayed in the cave, revolving her belonging for something remotely comforting. All the things she had were those she found whenever they searched the empty houses for food, clothes, or anything that might be useful in their daily routine.

In a small box Elisabeth kept her mother’s watch, a photograph of her family, her cap and a red lipstick that reminded her of Franziska. That was her small treasure and not even Hanno was allowed to touch it.

Elisabeth remembered how Franziska would use that lipstick whenever she planned to meet with Magnus. Elisabeth had always seen that as a symbol of power, something meant for grownup women. Elisabeth used to wonder when it would be her turn of using it.

She lost count of how many times she had taken Franziska’s lipstick without asking. Elisabeth wanted to used that so Yasin would think she was pretty like her sister. It never worked as she had planned and Elisabeth abandoned that foolish idea.

That small act of rebellion seemed to be adequate to the moment. She wanted to feel powerful for a change. She wanted to be seen as she was. A woman, not a child. Elisabeth slid the red lipstick all over her lips, where the feeling of Hanno’s kiss was still vivid.

It was a silly behavior, she knew. The red paint in her lips wouldn’t suddenly make Hanno look at her differently or make his actions any more comprehensible. It was just her trying to impress the boy she like while wishing he was more of a man than an angel.

Elisabeth went to her own side of the cave and laid on her improvised bed. She cried herself to sleep, all curled up as if she was a puppy.

It was hard to tell for how long she had slept. Elisabeth woke up with the sound of wood cracking and the fire lighting up the cave. She sat on her mattress and rubbed her eyes so she could see better. Hanno was back and he was sitting by the fire, looking at the cooking pot as he waited for the stew to get ready.

He seemed to be calmer and more composed. Elisabeth waited for him to look at her so she could ask where he had been. Hanno remained focused, avoiding to look at her as he stared at the fire. Once more his eyes were those of a hunter and Elisabeth wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to disturb him.

“What’s this?” He finally asked, referring to the red on her lips.

“Lipstick.” Elisabeth replied as a matter of fact. “I found it.” Hanno was looking at her intensely. She couldn’t tell if he approved or not of her small act of rebellion. His eyes were static as if he was about to shoot her at any time.

“Take it off.” His signs were sharp and adamant, like an order. It made her remember of how Franziska used to react whenever she found out that Elisabeth had messed up with her things.

“Why?” Elisabeth wasn’t in the mood to take orders from him. She was still angry at Hanno for treating her poorly, kissing her and then leaving as if she had the plague. “I like it.”

“It’s not adequate.” He insisted. For some reason a bit of red lipstick seemed to threaten his domain in that cave. Well...He was not her father, nor her brother to give her orders. He was just...Just Hanno. Whatever that meant. “Take it off.”

“I won’t.” She shrugged her shoulders and ignored his orders. “I like it. You are not my father to order me around anyway.” It felt good to impose her will and Hanno looked at her as if Elisabeth had two heads. He wasn’t used to her disobedience, even less to her more rebellious nature.

“It’s ridiculous.” He replied with evident anger. “You are just a child. This thing is not meant for you.”

“I’m not.” Elisabeth snapped back stubbornly. She rose from her bed and walked toward him. She stood in front of Hanno in a challenging position. That forced him to do rise too so he could answer to her insubordination properly. “The time is never right for you, but it is for me.” Her hands moved energetically and with a hint of disdain.

Hanno rose his right hand and for a second Elisabeth thought he might hit her. She got ready to receive a slap across her face, but what she felt was his hand cupping her cheek and then his thumb rubbing her lips, trying to remove her lipstick. His hunter’s eyes were fixed on her face, as if he could read her mind and under her clothes.

Elisabeth thought about complaining and rebelling against his unreasonable attitude, but her impulse drove her elsewhere. She grabbed his collar as she stood at the tip of her toes to reach his face. This time it was her to start the kiss and there was no shyness involved. Elisabeth kissed him with hunger and embarrassing inexperience.

For a moment she thought he was going to push her away, but Hanno pulled her closer and answered the kiss with the same eagerness. His tongue entered the cave of her mouth and invited hers to a sensuous dance. Elisabeth felt her whole body warm up as a flurry took over her stomach. It felt so good that she wondered if that was anything like paradise.

Hanno’s hand held her by the hair. She could feel his strong pull keeping her in place as he prolonged the kiss. Elisabeth mimicked his gesture and felt him moan softly against her lips. That woke up her instincts and made her curious about other possibilities.

Elisabeth removed his coat clumsily. She wanted to feel him completely. To hold him close and never let him go away. She wanted to rebel and to prove that she wasn’t just a silly child. She was a woman and she wanted him.

Hanno’s hand removed her oversized sweater and threw it to the floor. His mouth kissed her neck as she felt his hand roaming over her naked skin. Elisabeth removed his shirt so she could feel him too.

Hanno picked her up in his arms and carried her blindly to the mattress. Her whole body was burning with anticipation although she didn’t know for sure what to expect. His hand cupped her breast and for a millisecond Hanno seemed surprised to find out that she had feminine contours at all. He kissed neck again and made a trail all the way to her left breast. He took it into his mouth and gave it a hard suck, making her body arch under his. Elisabeth was suddenly breathless.

He did the same to the other breast while his hands swiftly got rid of her pants and his own. For a moment Elisabeth was startled to feel his fingers touching her between the legs. His fingers seemed to know the way and Elisabeth rolled her eyes once they entered her. They moved so sensuously as his thumbed played with a little spot just above the entrance.

Elisabeth shut her eyes and let him guide her. She could feel the sweat of their bodies, his scent, his breath against her neck and the roughness of his poorly shaved beard scratching her skin. She could feel all the new sensations he caused in her and marveled at how pleasurable they were.

Her body was licked by waves of pleasure all of a sudden. Her mouth fell open and for a second Elisabeth could swear she was screaming out loud, despite her voice remained as silent as ever.

Hanno cupped her cheek and kissed her mouth again. It was sweet and gentle that time as if he was convincing her to come back to reality. Elisabeth held him tightly and kissed him back.

She parted the kiss at the feeling of Hanno entering her. It hurt a bit, enough to make her bite her bottom lip and shut her eyes tightly. Hanno kissed her cheek as he remained very still. That helped her to relax and her body to adjust to him. His hips moved very slowly at first, making eat easier for her to get used to the feeling.

The pain became just a detail in the back of her mind and it all felt good again. Their bodies moved just perfectly. The waves came back and her whole body shivered under his. She scratched his back in answer, making Hanno throw his head back and close his eyes. He didn’t stop moving until Elisabeth felt an unfamiliar warmth filling her. Something fluid and sticky between her tights.

Hanno rolled to her side and remained absolutely still for a feel seconds. Elisabeth felt sore between her legs, but her body was completely relaxed, as if she was floating. It took a while for Hanno to look at her again. He seemed worried about something, as if he wasn’t sure of what they had done and a bit disgusted at the same time.

“Did I hurt you?” His hands moved slowly and unsure as he asked. Elisabeth shook her head negatively just to tranquilize him. Hanno didn’t seem to believe her though. He still had a frown and looked at her as if he had no idea of what to do with her.

Elisabeth kissed his mouth lightly as her fingers run through his hair. Hanno held her gently after pulling the blankets to cover their naked bodies.

After a while without doing much of anything but exchanging caresses, Elisabeth finally summoned the courage to ask him something important.

“Is this how paradise feels like?” She asked while looking at his face curiously.

“It must be.” Hanno answered simply. “I don’t know.”

“Tell me about it again.” Elisabeth asked as her eyes stared his lips moving. This time Hanno didn’t even try to use the signs. He spoke out loud and although she couldn’t hear a thing his lips moved so beautifully that reading the words was more of a bliss than a nuisance.

“ Paradise is free of pain and suffering.” He told her. “Everything we’ve ever done is forgotten there. Any pain we’ve ever felt is erased. All the dead live. Adam will keep his promise and the passage will open.” The same words from the first time he told her about the plan and how everything would be better. “We will go there one day.” He pointed at her and then at himself. “You and me. I promise.”

“I think I love you.” Elisabeth moved her fingers shyly, making Hanno smiled at her fondly before kissing her forehead.

“I love you more.” His fingers replied and Elisabeth was sure paradise felt just like that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just to make things clear, Elisabeth is about 15 years old in this chapter. Hanno is the one leaving in denial land for far too long to acknowledge that she grew up.  
> I hope you guys like it. Reviews are highly appreciated.  
> Thank you so much for all the lovely reviews in the first chapter. I hope to come back with other fics soon.

**Author's Note:**

> My original intention was to make it a one-shot, but I concluded it would be better if I divided this story into two parts. This first part covers Elisabeth's transition from childhood to her teens and how this impacts and changes their relationship.  
> I hope you'll like it. Reviews are highly appreciated.


End file.
